1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hose coupling assembly for use with a hose, such as a car radiator hose.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional hose coupling assemblies is described in JP 11-153278A. FIG. 51 is a sectional view of the hose coupling assembly taught in the prior art publication. In FIG. 52, a hose 120 is connected with a passage 102 in an engine block 100. The hose 120 is provided on the peripheral portion thereof with a corrugated portion 121; one of the corrugation grooves 121a serves as a housing groove 121b, with an O-ring 122 housed within the housing groove 121b. To connect the hose 120 to the passage 102, the corrugated portion 121 is pushed into a housing recess 104 of the engine block 100, and with the corrugated portion 121 in the compressed state, a detent fitting 128 is inserted into mounting holes 124a, 124a of a retainer block 124, as shown in FIG. 52. In this way the hose 120 is detained within the housing recess 104. In this state, the corrugated portion 121 is compressed in the diametrical direction, forcing the O-ring 122 against the side wall of the housing recess 104 so that the O-ring 122 provides a seal between the passage 102 and the hose 120.
However, the conventional hose coupling assembly requires laborious the procedure of inserting the detent fitting 128 to and from the small mounting holes 124a, 124a of the retainer block 124 for implementing the coupling and its reverse procedure for releasing the same.
Another prior art technique is disclosed in JP 6-50482A. The art comprises a hose having a first mating catch composed of a discrete element unified therewith by means of insert molding using a blow mold; and an associated member having a second mating catch formed on the rim thereof, so that the hose may be connected to the passage of the associated member by means of mating the first mating catch and second mating catch.
However, the prior art technique requires inserting the first mating catch in the blow mold for the hose and unifying it with the hose during molding thereof, which requires a rather complex mold and an additional insertion step, thus contributing to higher production cost. Further, once the hose is coupled, a special tool is required to remove it.